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Iridaceae family

Iris Iris ×robusta hybrid

Native

Iris is a perennial wildflower native to Canada and the lower 48 states.

More about this plant

Iris × robusta, called the Windermere iris, is a hybrid species of flowering plant in the family Iridaceae. Its parents are Iris versicolor and Iris virginica, both of which are native to North America. Wild populations have been found in Michigan and Ontario, and it has been introduced into Great Britain. It is a rhizomatous perennial, characterised by its violet-blue flowers and purple-flushed foliage. It has a number of cultivars, including 'Gerald Darby', 'Mountain Brook', 'Purple Fan' and 'Nutfield Blue'. Its cultivar 'Dark Aura' has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. Wikipedia →

Growing & care

USDA PLANTS · TRY
Conditions
Sources · Conditions
Cold hardiness (derived) — Hardiness
Hardiness
≥ zone 7 derived from its U.S. range
Size & form
Sources · Size & form
USDA PLANTS — Lifespan
Lifespan
Perennial
In the garden
Herb layer — Sits in the herb of a layered food forest or polyculture.Open guide →
derived roles
Species characteristics from USDA PLANTS (public domain) + TRY (CC BY) — general guidance, not a guarantee for your exact site. Deer "browsing" is documented palatability, not a deer-proof claim.

Wildlife & pollinators

How pollinator value is scored →
❧ Caterpillar hosts ~16 caterpillar species

Iris supports ~16 caterpillar species.

Native butterfly & moth caterpillars are the base of the terrestrial food web — most songbirds rear their young almost entirely on them. As a host for native Lepidoptera this is a moderate genus.

Recorded feeding on Iris in North America, including:

Amphipoea keiferi · owlet moth Celaena reniformis · owlet moth Ctenucha virginica · Virginia Ctenucha Endothenia hebesana · Verbena Bud Moth Endothenia rubipunctana · leafroller moth Hydraecia micacea · Rosy Rustic
+ 8 more species →
Lophocampa ingens · tiger moth Lymantria dispar · Gypsy Moth Macronoctua onusta · Iris Borer Moodna ostrinella · Darker Moodna Moth Orgyia leucostigma · White-Marked Tussock Moth Papaipema cataphracta · Burdock Borer Papaipema nebris · Stalk Borer Sparganothis pilleriana · leafroller moth
Keystone count (genus-level) from Warren II 2026 (CC0) · Tallamy host-use records. Named species (a documented Nearctic sample, not exhaustive) from NHM HOSTS (CC0).
Species thumbnails re-hosted from iNaturalist — Creative Commons, credited per image (hover for credit). Click any species to see it on iNaturalist. Not exhaustive; many taxa have no openly-licensed photo yet.
Sources for this entry (10) Open & cited
[01] Scientific name & family — USDA PLANTS (DwCA, Zenodo 17903503)
[02] Growth habit & duration — USDA PLANTS (DwCA, Zenodo 17903503)
[03] Native status & distribution — USDA PLANTS (DwCA, Zenodo 17903503)
[04] Common name — USDA PLANTS (via GBIF)
[05] Invasive / introduced status — USDA PLANTS (DwCA, Zenodo 17903503) — native status
[06] Description — Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)
[07] Ecological value — Warren II 2026 (CC0) · Tallamy host-use counts
[08] Cold hardiness (derived) — Derived from U.S. range × USDA PHZM zones
[09] Caterpillar host count — Warren II 2026 (Dryad, CC0) · Tallamy host-use counts
[10] Caterpillar species — NHM HOSTS (CC0)
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